"He Had the Lightest Touch in a Heavy Town."
The unintentional shooting by police of a star basketball player has profound personal, political and community repercussions in this acclaimed adaptation of the novel Hog Butcher by Ronald Fair. This was one of the more thoughtful urban dramas produced at the height of the "blaxploitation" craze. Also released under the title Hit the Open Man, it features the screen debut of Laurence Fishburne, who was barely a teenager at the time.
Benjamin Blackwell
Sarah Robinson
Officer Larry Atkins
Leona Hamilton
Wilford Robinson
Charlie
One-Eye
Deputy Coroner
Officer John Golich
Fred Jenkins
Sgt. Danaher
Sam Hamilton
Earl Carter
Nathaniel 'Cornbread' Hamilton
Ace
Watkins
Shifty
Mr. Wilson
Mr. Johnson
Jack
Mrs. Parsons
Det. Simmons
Det. Kelly
Diane
Mr. Carter
Stud
Edna
Morgue Man (as Tommy Maier)
Man
Store Manager
Al
Bailiff